How Sporting view Arsenal's Viktor Gyokeres ahead of Champions League return - 'A beast mentally'

AFC BournemouthArsenalAston VillaBrentfordBrighton & Hove AlbionBurnleyChelseaCrystal PalaceEvertonFulhamLeeds UnitedLiverpoolManchester CityManchester UnitedNewcastle UnitedNottingham ForestSunderlandTottenham HotspurWest Ham UnitedWolverhampton WanderersScores & ScheduleStandingsFantasyThe Athletic FC NewsletterPodcastsChampions League Viktor Gyokeres joined Arsenal from Sporting CP last summer PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA/AFP via Getty Images Share full articleThe last time Viktor Gyokeres graced the pitch at Sporting CP’s Estadio Jose Alvalade in May 2025, he scored his 53rd goal of the season. His 82nd-minute strike in a routine win over Vitoria Guimaraes helped the club defend their Liga Portugal title, finishing two points ahead of a Benfica side that had battled hard to ensure the league title would be decided on the final day of the season. Gyokeres scored 97 goals in 102 matches for Sporting during his two-year stint in Portugal from 2023 to 2025. It meant he entered the 2025 summer transfer window as one of the hottest commodities on the market — and was being targeted by some of the biggest clubs in Europe. His former head coach, Ruben Amorim, was in post at Manchester United at the time, with many thinking it seemed logical the Swede would join him at Old Trafford, although Arsenal, who were crying out for a striker and had made signing one a priority, were also interested. Arsenal had their eyes on Gyokeres and Benjamin Sesko, then at RB Leipzig. At the beginning of the transfer window, Mikel Arteta, the Arsenal manager, appeared to have a preference for Sesko, even if there were some concerns about his readiness to hit the ground running as he had only just turned 22. The club’s hierarchy, however, favoured Gyokeres, with Arteta eventually coming to agree with them on prioritising the move, prompting a five-year deal with a €63.5million fixed fee (£55.4m; $73.3m) with a further €10m in possible add-ons. Given his thirst for goals and Arsenal’s need for a player capable of ending their more than two-decade wait for a Premier League title, having turned into perennial runners-up, it seemed a match made in heaven. Two goals in a dominant 5-0 win against Leeds United in only their second game of the season fuelled the narrative that his goalscoring rate had followed him from Portugal to north London. That proved to be a false dawn, and a hamstring injury, leading to him missing more than a month of action between September and October, only compounded the forward’s early struggles. The view from some at Sporting, where Gyokeres’ quality is remembered fondly despite his exit, has never wavered, though. “He was always going to initially struggle in Arteta’s system,” a Sporting source, speaking, as others, on the condition of anonymity to protect relationships, says of Gyokeres. “He is being asked to do things that are completely unnatural to his strengths and characteristics as a striker.” Arteta’s Arsenal, to great effect for the majority of this season, can suck up pressure, control the tempo of the match and create wide-overload sequences. They are not bad at set pieces, either. But Gyokeres is a different type of player; he is direct, plays off the shoulder, thrives on early passes, and wants to penetrate space in behind and cause anarchy amongst the opposition’s back line. A source close to the Sporting dressing room says they were not surprised by his slow start. “He hadn’t done preseason, was out of shape. The Premier League is the best league in the world, and any great player needs time to adapt to it,” he tells The Athletic. “Nevertheless, he’s been having a very good season. Next season will be even better, as he’ll be more adapted to the league and the coach’s ideas.” At a press conference in December, and with Gyokeres still struggling, Arteta implored the player’s critics to “leave him alone”, adding, “let him do what he does best, be behind him, and I’m sure things will turn out in the right way”. When confronted with the conundrum of either dropping him and potentially setting fire to any confidence Gyokeres had or persevering with him, Arteta chose the latter — and it started to pay off. Since the turn of the year, he has scored 10 goals in all competitions for Arsenal (including in Saturday’s defeat to Southampton) and adding four in two games for Sweden to fire them to the World Cup during the March international break. He looks to have found his feet, even if the numbers are not replicable to his time in Portugal. The Sporting source added: “Despite the doubts and noise, and even the pressure he was put under from the media who kept insisting he wasn’t good enough and is underperforming week after week, Viktor only ever kept his head down and never gave up. He is a beast mentally. “And you are slowly beginning to see Arteta and his team-mates understand much better what he can offer to the team and what his strengths are. The goal against Inter in the Champions League, for example, was classic Gyokeres. “Everyone here knew that he wouldn’t be the one quitting when he had a tough start.” Despite the early struggles, Gyokeres is Arsenal’s top scorer in the Premier League, notching 11 goals, which is five more than Bukayo Saka and Eberechi Eze. And he could also end the campaign with a Premier League title, with Arteta’s squad nine points clear of Manchester City. So, as he returns to the Alvalade on Tuesday, albeit in different colours and with the intention of giving Arsenal the upper hand in the Champions League quarter-final before the return fixture at the Emirates on April 15, you would expect the home supporters to give him a warm reception — even though he left under a cloud, after making it clear he did not intend to report for pre-season. “He left a very big legacy at Alvalade,” the source close to the dressing room says. “He left as one of the top scorers in the club’s history, and there are few players who have had such a huge impact on the team. “The truth is that the way he left the team upset some fans. Even so, there are more fans who adore him than those who were upset. He is a player who left a deep mark in the club’s history. His celebrations, his way of being on the pitch — many fans idolise him and regard him as a God.” Gyokeres may not be the free-scoring player he was during his two years at Sporting, but he has continued to improve at Arsenal, and if anyone will be aware of the danger he poses, it will be the club where he established himself as one of the most deadly strikers in Europe. Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Dan Sheldon is a football news correspondent for The Athletic. He has previously covered Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea and Southampton FC. Follow Dan on Twitter @Dan_Sheldon_